The House is moving to approve the Senate version of the bill as early as Wednesday. If Biden signs up quickly after that, the unemployed may see little or no drop in payments. But it depends on the state in which they live.
Some states are moving quickly
Some states say they hope to be able to continue to distribute benefits without pause – as long as they don’t have to make many changes to their unemployment systems.
“If President Biden signs the project soon and there are no additional program requirements in the project, we should be able to implement the extensions without any disruption to payments,” said Kersha Cartwright, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Labor. “That’s a lot of guesswork, though.”
In Oregon, the Department of Employment is already interpreting the legislation and preparing for the programming changes it will need to make to implement the new provisions.
“Our goal is to minimize any delays or interruptions for Oregon residents who have these critical benefits,” said Melanni Rosales, director of communications for the agency.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security also started planning an extension, but the timing of benefits would depend on guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, said Tasya Peterson, the agency’s press secretary.
Unlike the aid package approved by Congress in December, this legislation must be signed before the dismissed workers run out of benefits, and there are far fewer changes than in the previous bill, said Andrew Stettner, a senior member of The Century Foundation.
Most states are expected to begin submitting unemployment benefits in less than three weeks, he said.
Some unemployed Oregon residents, for example, had no interruption in payments after the previous relief bill, but others had to wait until mid-February for their benefits to be restarted. In California, it took until early March to fully implement the provisions of the December relief bill.
Stimulus checks will come out quickly
Stimulus payments are due to start this month, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday.
Payments don’t come out all at once. Those whose bank information is filed with the IRS are likely to receive the money first, because it will be deposited directly into their accounts. Others may receive paper checks or prepaid debit cards in the mail.
This time, individuals earning less than $ 75,000 and couples earning less than $ 150,000 will receive a total payment of $ 1,400, plus an additional $ 1,400 per dependent. But the third round of checks would be eliminated more quickly than previous payments – completely cutting off individuals who earn more than $ 80,000 a year and couples who earn more than $ 160,000, regardless of how many children they have.
Child tax credit
The aid package provides for an increase in credit to $ 3,600 for each child under 6 years old and to $ 3,000 for each child between 6 and 17 years old in 2021 for eligible families. Currently, it is a $ 2,000 credit for children between 6 and 16 years old.
The credit would also become fully refundable for the year and can be paid monthly, instead of as a lump sum at the time of tax.
Families could receive half of their total credit as a periodic payment starting in July and until the rest of the year, according to the legislation. They could then claim the remaining half on their 2021 tax returns.
But that timeline would also depend on whether the IRS could implement the changes so quickly, which can be hard work, given its small staff and other responsibilities. The legislation gives the agency some leeway – saying that the Treasury secretary could direct payments to be issued as often as possible if a monthly schedule is not feasible.
Health insurance benefits
Americans who would qualify for the heavier federal award subsidies in the Affordable Care Act policy aid package would have to wait until the new regulations were programmed on the Obamacare exchange.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which has not returned a consultation on the deadline, must act quickly to implement the law as soon as it is signed, but it may still take several days or weeks.
Health insurers are waiting for critical details, including when the changes “will take effect,” said Kelley Schultz, executive director of the commercial product policy group at America’s Health Insurance Plans, one of the industry’s top trade associations.
“Once these backend updates are complete, people should be able to buy plans with new grants very quickly,” she said.
The agency must also provide information on whether existing applicants need to return to the scholarship to access more generous assistance.
According to the law, registrants would not pay more than 8.5% of their income for coverage, against almost 10% now. In addition, those earning more than the current limit of 400% of the federal poverty level – about $ 51,000 for an individual and $ 104,800 for a family of four in 2021 – would become eligible for aid. The provision, retroactive to January, would have a duration of two years.
Low-income subscribers can have their premiums completely eliminated in the same period, and those receiving unemployment insurance can apply for premium-free coverage in 2021. The latter clause may take longer to be established, since it is new.
In addition, Senate legislation provides full subsidy to the premium until the end of September for dismissed workers who wish to remain on the employer’s health plan through COBRA.
The provision is expected to go into effect on April 1, but when people are able to access it will depend on federal guidance, as well as their former employers and COBRA plan administrators, said Schultz. The allowance was created to be a credit against federal employers’ payroll taxes.
Meal ticket
Food stamp recipients would continue to see a 15% increase in benefits, but the increase would last through September, rather than expire at the end of June, according to legislation.
Therefore, they should not see any interruption in benefits.